Notts & Derby then DLI confusing man!

[stevem49]

3226 John Rowland Brown (enlisted as John) N&D. 252443 DLI - records on ancestry

I have a man who is listed as -

3226 Notts and Derby -

1/5th Bn - 2/5th Bn, 9th (home bn), 21st Bn

Then he joined 2/6th DLI who went to France as a Garrison Guard battalion in May 1918. He may have got an SWB with DLI.

Possibly 14/15 Star but cannot find it! His DLI card has F/103 B 38 in comments section which is Notts and Derby

He has MIC for BWM and VM.

I did not realise that someone would be listed as 9th Bn (Home) although the battalion was in the UK at the time.

He was TF and did sign to serve overseas.

Discharge was Disembodiment but his AF is 2. 11 and I thought it should be 2.21.

Did battalions have clerical staff who stayed in the UK? That is all I can think of from his details and the fact he was in a DLI Garrison battalion.

I have a feeling that he may have been unfit to serve overseas as he did get a discharge for Chest problems.

So many questions!!

I would appreciate any comments, help, DLI medal roll info.

Thanks for reading

Steve M

[KONDOA]

Look at his age first, you could join a TF battalion, as one of my grandfathers did, but then when older be enlisted to a different battalion, in our case North Stafford's.

The 4th Lincolns follows the same as you describe and generally sent batches of men to other regiments as required.

Not a very technical answer but generally it allowed early recruitment without actually being of age to fight.

Roop

[stevem49]

Sorry I should have mentioned that his records show he was born 1893, so only 21 when he joined TF Bn on 20/101/1914, I think he had this 'chest' problem prior to joining.

The 21st Bn, Notts and Derby was started on 1/1/1917 for home service personnel.

Thanks

Steve

[ss002d6252]

The 252XXX range of 6th DLI men is a one I've been trying to tie down for a while as it's difficult to find the commonality as to why they were allocated numbers in this range (whenever I think I've a handle on it something else comes along) although they do seem , in the main, to be men who had been through the DLI reserve Bn's due to illness or injury and weren't generally returned to the front. A lot of them were released to civilian employment in about 1917.

Men in the 251XXX range seem to be mainly men who were injured but likely to return to the front line battalion to fight again.

Craig

[stevem49]

Thanks Craig. A bit like the N&D 70000 series then!

I feel he had a chest problem when he joined and was sent from one unit to another as base staff.

When the 2/6th went to France, he was obviously fit enough to go with them.

Thanks

Steve

[ss002d6252]

When the 2/6th went to France, he was obviously fit enough to go with them.

I think at that point they were desperate for fit men at the front (IIRC they had lowered the thresholds required for a man to be fir for the front) so I'd guess that any man who was relatively fit and could hold a rifle was destined for either garrison work or similar if he wasn't fit for the front

Craig

[stevem49]

True, although it does not seem to done him much good!

I presume that he would have got a SWB - would you agree?

Thanks

Steve

[ss002d6252]

I presume that he would have got a SWB - would you agree?

There's nothing shown on his MIC - his discharge was on demobilisation and not due to illness/injury.

I've just been looking through my (incomplete) list of 252XXX men and there are other N&D men scattered around his number so presumably there a bulk clear out of some of the N&D men to the 2/6th DLI.

Craig

[Tyneside Chinaman]

Hi,

The actual medal roll sheet only shows service overseas with 2/6th DLI as a corporal. No other units shown.

regards

John

[stevem49]

Thank you gents.

I shall pass the info on to his Grandson and also claim him as a 9th Bn man, even though he never served overseas with us. Obviously at home as admin for the battalion.

Thanks again for your help.

Steve